Device for holding corks in bottles.



N. 0 92a. o 8 J. SPANG' PATENTED 0013 17,1905

DEVICE FOR HOLDING OORKS IN BOTTLES..

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26. 1904.

ZQZZwSSe/S I J ,1! Fiji-1511x 107? .c. AM we W (1M k 7 I s JOSEPH P.SPANG, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR HOLDING CORKS IN BOTTLES.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

PatentedOct. 17, 1905.'

Application filed September 26, 1904. Serial No. 225,876.

To a whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH P. SPANG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Devices for Holding Corks in Bottles, ofwhich the following description. in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like numerals on the drawings representinglike parts.

In the'process of bottling ale, porter, and some kinds of wine it isnecessary to provide some means for preventing the cork of the bottlefrom being blown out by the pressure within the bottle. The expedientcommonly resorted to for accomplishing this is to Wire the cork in thebottle, the wire being passed over the end of the cork once or twice andsecured beneath the exterior shoulder with which the necks of all aleand champagne bottles are provided. This operation of wiring the cork inthe bottle necessitates the use of special machinery for this purpose,and the operation of unwiring the cork preparatory to opening the bottleis always more or less difficult.

In making my present invention I have improved upon the existing meansfor securing the cork in place by providing a detachable cork-securingdevice which can be instantly applied to the bottle and as quicklyremoved without the necessity of using any special machinery for thispurpose.

My improved device comprises a central body portion adapted to span thetop of the bottle and legs depending from the body portion and providedat their extremities with foot portions which are adapted to engage theusual exterior shoulder on.the neck of ale,- champagne, &c., bottles.

Either the body portion or the legs are made sufficiently resilient tocause the legs to tightly hug the neck of the bottle, whereby the feetare maintained in engagement with the shoulder.

The device can be applied to a bottle by merely forcing it on the neck,the resiliency in the body portion causing the feet to spring under theshoulder when the device is fully in place, and it can be removed fromthe bottle by merely separating the legs slightly to disengage the feetfrom the shoulder.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the top of an ale orchampagne bottle having a device embodying one form of my inventionapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is avertical 'with intu rned foot portions 7.

sectionthrough the bottle shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof adifferent form of my invention.

The form of bottle herein illustrated is the familiar ale or champagnebottle, which has the exterior rib 3 around its neck forming a shoulder4, under which the usual wiring for the cork is secured.

In the form of my invention shown in Fig.

1 the cork-securing device comprises the central body portion 5, whichextends across the top of the bottle, and the depending legs 6, whichare provided at their lower extremities The body portion 5 isillustrated as substantially circular and is bent downwardly at itscentral portion to form the depending rib or projection 8. I propose toso temper the device during its manufacture that the resiliency thereofwill be in the body portion 5 rather than in the legs 6, with the resultthat the said body portion bends along the line of the rib 8 to permitthe legs to spread when the device is forced over the neck of thebottle. In applying my improved device after the bottle has been corkedit is merely forced over the neck of the bottle, the body portion 5bending along the line of the rib 8 to permit the legs 6 to spread asthey are forced over the rib 3, the resiliency of the body portioncausing the feet 7 to snap under the shoulder i when the device has beenproperly placed on the bottle.

The size of the body portion 5 is such that the periphery thereofoverlies the end of the bottle-neck, and therefore the rib 8 rests notonly on the top of the cork, but also on the end of the bottle-neck.Since the resiliency of the device is along the line of the rib 8, itwill follow that any upward pressure by the cork on the rib 8 will causethe legs 6 to hug the bottle-neck more tightly, and thus cause the feetto more securely grasp the shoulder i.

The device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is made from sheet metal.

In bottling some materials it is customary to use a cap'outside of thecork for giving a finish to the bottle. Said cap is sometimes made oftin-foil and sometimes of a piece of sheet metal. By properly shapingthe body portion 5, as shown'in Fig. 3, to give it adownwardly-extending flange 15 at its periphery which covers the end ofthe bottle said device will perform the function of the usual wire forholding the cork in place and the finishing-cap.

The feet 7 (shown in Fig. 1) have no greater width than the legs 6. InFig. 3 said feet are extended laterally, as at 12, thereby to secure amore extended bearing on the shoulder 4 of the bottle.

Although I have shown two forms of my invention, I do not wish to belimited to what is shown in the drawings, as the material of which thedevice is made and the shape of the feet portion may be varied withoutdeparting from the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s

1. A device for holding corks in bottles which have an exterior shoulderaround the neck, said device comprising a body portion to extend acrossthe top of the bottle and shaped to present a downwardly extending ribto engage the cork, the material of the rib being made resilient, andcomparatively non-resilient legs depending from the body portion, eachleg having an inwardlydirected foot portion to engage the shoulder onthe bottle-neck, the resiliency of the material forming the rib causingthe legs to hug the neck of the bottle.

2. A device of the class described cornpris ing a body portion to extendacross and cover the top of a bottle and shaped to presenta V- shapeddownwardly-extending rib to engage a-cork, the material of the rib beingresilient, said body portion also being formed with a flange, as 15,which surrounds the bottle-neck, and comparatively non-resilient legsdepending from the body portion, each leg having an inwardly-directedfoot portion to engage the shoulder on the bottle-neck.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH P. SPANG.

Witnesses;

LoUIs (3. SMITH, BERTHA F. HENSER.

